So why read Milestone this way? These are some fantastic comics that benefit greatly from the interlocking continuity between them. Reading the individual series will not give you the satisfaction that the Milestone world was built to create. This is a superhero comic universe with a definitive beginning, middle, and end. That’s a rare thing. It’s well worth your time, unlike lots of other mid-90′s comic universe experiments. These stories were wildly progressive for their day, and shockingly, remain more relevant than ever today. Contained within is some of the late Dwayne McDuffie’s best work, along with other amazing creators like Denys Cowan and MD Bright.

These issues are presented in (mostly) chronological order, but also preserving internal story arcs. Reading this way, you will see certain subplots unfold in the background. The volumes are all of roughly equal size (~25-35 issues), with the exception of the Long Hot Summer, which can be cleanly split in half for a “prelude” volume. Alternatively, if you prefer ~50 issue omnibuses, just double up the volumes. The volumes are designed to have satisfying break points. No arbitrary cutoffs in the middle of a major crossover event. Important to note that besides the main Volumes 1 through 10, the Xombi series has been separated out into its own special “Volume X”, because its interaction with the rest of the Milestone universe is extremely minimal, and works much better as a standalone. Including Xombi within the main volumes would actively undermine the flow of both Xombi and the rest of the books, as they have almost nothing to do with each other. More details provided in the notes for that volume.

Without further ado, the Complete Milestone!

VOL.1  – THE BIG BANG
23 issues

Hardware 1-4
Blood Syndicate 1-4
Icon 1-3
Static 1-4
Hardware 5-9
Static 5-7

VOL.2 – SHADOW WAR
26 issues
NOTE: Issues with an asterisk end with a Shadow War issue. These issues are not normal crossover issues, but rather have a brief cliffhanger which set up the main crossover in Shadow Cabinet #0. Otherwise the issues deal with the individual series’ plotlines. Don’t make the mistake of putting all the Shadow War issues in order like a normal event. Just follow this guide.

Blood Syndicate 5-10* 
Icon 4-9*
Static 8
Hardware 10-11*
Xombi 0
Shadow Cabinet 0
Hardware 12
Icon 10
Blood Syndicate 11-12
Static 9-13

VOL.3 – WORLDS COLLIDE
25 issues
NOTE: Worlds Collide was a crossover between the Milestone universe (Dakotaverse) and the DC universe. As such, it includes several DC issues, namely from various Superman-related series of the time.

Icon 11-14
Hardware 13-16
Blood Syndicate 13-15
Superman MOS 35 
Hardware 17
Superboy 6
Icon 15
Steel 6
Blood Syndicate 16
WORLDS COLLIDE 1
Superboy 7
Hardware 18
Superman MOS 36
Icon 16
Steel 7
Blood Syndicate 17
Static 14

VOL.4 – THE MOTHERSHIP CONNECTION
24 issues

Shadow Cabinet 1-4
Static 15-20
Hardware 19
Icon 17-21
Hardware 20-21 (fill-in arc, optional)
Blood Syndicate 18-23 (18 is a fill-in, optional)

VOL.5 – RED DEATH
34 issues

Shadow Cabinet 5-10
Hardware 22-24 (optional fill-in)
Kobalt 1-6
Hardware 25
Deathwish 1-4
Hardware 26-28 (direct continuation of Deathwish mini)
Static 21-24
Shadow Cabinet 11-13
Blood Syndicate 24-27

VOL.6 – THE LONG HOT SUMMER
41 issues
NOTE 1: Long Hot Summer is a big crossover event between all the Milestone series. However, it is impossible to create a perfect chronology because the different books move at different speeds and focus on different events. This reading order provides the best possible reading experience by balancing preservation of small internal arcs with the larger ovararching story, avoiding big spoilers where possible. Still, keep in mind that as you change character perspectives, you may move slightly forward or backward in time.
NOTE 2: You may notice that the Xombi issues from this event are missing. That is very deliberate. See “Vol.X – Xombi” for details.

Static 25
Kobalt 7-14
Icon 22-27
My Name is Holocaust 1-5 (Long Hot Summer prelude)
NOTE: If you want to split the volume in two, here is the break point for a “prelude” volume
Shadow Cabinet 14
Blood Syndicate 28
Hardware 29
LONG HOT SUMMER 1
Icon 28
LONG HOT SUMMER 2
Static 26
Hardware 30-31
Blood Syndicate 29-30
Static 27
Shadow Cabinet 15-16
Icon 29
Kobalt 15-16
LONG HOT SUMMER 3
Hardware 32
Icon 30
Shadow Cabinet 17

VOL.X – XOMBI
~29 issues
NOTE: Xombi as a whole must be treated differently from the other Milestone books. It should not be read concurrently with the other books, as it has basically nothing to do with them. It very rarely interacts with the main Dakotaverse, and in fact doesn’t even take place in Dakota! Even when it does explicitly cross over (eg. Long Hot Summer), the crossover is actually very minimal, as the issues remain focused on Xombi’s plotline, rather than LHS. In fact, I highly advise against including Xombi’s LHS issues in the LHS volume, because they hurt the pacing significantly (and that event already has complicated pacing). Xombi really is its own thing, and thus deserves its own volume. Trust me on this. As for when to read it, I would recommend between Vol.6 and 7. But really, any time before Vol.8 is fine.

Xombi 1-11 
Xombi 0 (Published before issue 1, but takes place here. Up to you where to place it. You can also skip it if you just want it in the Shadow War volume.)
Shadow Cabinet 0 (directly continues from Xombi 0, but barely features Xombi himself, optional)
Xombi 12-21 (14-16 are Long Hot Summer issues, but are barely relevant to that story, and much more relevant to Xombi’s story)
Brave and the Bold (2009) 26 (Only include this here if you don’t want to make Vol.9, see “Vol.9 – The Brave & The Bold” for details)
Xombi v2 1-6

VOL.7 – THE WORLD NEEDS HEROES
35 issues

Superman & Batman Magazine 7 (Only the “Milestone for Kids” stories are relevant, featuring Static, Icon, & Hardware. Cut the rest out. These are optional, but fun.)
Icon 32-33 (both fill-ins that take place before 31, buying time for McDuffie to finish writing that arc)
Icon 31, 34-36 (34 continues directly from 31)
Icon 37 (fill-in)
Blood Syndicate 31-32 (fill-in)
Static 28-31
Hardware 33 (fill-in)
Hardware 34-38 (Rozum arc, Xombi makes an appearance)
Blood Syndicate 33-35
Static 32-35
Hardware 39-41
Heroes 1-6 (Direct followup to Shadow Cabinet, plus Static)

VOL.8 – MILESTONE FOREVER
34 issues
NOTE 1: Unfortunately, Milestone died a slow and painful death, and this volume is proof. There are many fill-in writers, dropped plot threads, unfinished arcs, and an overall decline in quality due to the editorial chaos of a dying business. Thankfully, against all odds, the Milestone Forever mini brings it together, giving this universe solid closure. After this point, the Milestone characters were merged into the DC universe, making random background appearances. If you want, you can stop with Vol.8 and ignore everything afterward.
NOTE 2: The “Static: Rebirth of the Cool” mini came out several years after the death of Milestone. Unfortunately, it’s very difficult to place in continuity. Milestone Forever picks up right where the various old Milestone series left off, and it definitively ends the universe as a whole. Thus, Rebirth of the Cool cannot come before OR after Milestone Forever. But it is very much worth reading, and the events are canon to SOME unknown degree, so the best option is to simply leave it in publication order. Just do some mental gymnastics and it fits just fine.

Static 36-42
Hardware 42-44 
Wise Son 1-4 (prelude to following Icon arc)
Icon 38-42 
Static 43-45 (ends on a weird cliffhanger, sadly)
Hardware 45-50
Static: Rebirth of the Cool 1-4
9/11 Vol.2 (8-page Static story only, totally optional and of dubious canonicity due to how it incorporates elements from the Static Shock cartoon)
Milestone Forever 1-2 (finishes all dangling plot threads and merges Dakotaverse with DCU)

VOL.9 – THE BRAVE AND THE BOLD
15 issues
NOTE: This volume collects random post-Milestone Forever appearances of various Dakotaverse characters in the DC Universe. It is is entirely optional, but there’s some fun stuff here, and many of the original creators are involved. There are other minor Milestone character appearances you could include, such as other Titans issues with Static standing in the background for 2 panels, or god forbid, the New 52 rebooted Static Shock series, but most of those are dogshit and will only serve to detract from the experience in my opinion.

Justice League of America (2006 series) 27-34 (from McDuffie run, various Milestone characters appear)
Brave and the Bold (2009 series) 24-26 (DCU teamups ft. Static, Hardware, and Xombi)
Teen Titans (2003 series) 79-82 (Static and the Titans go to Dakota and fight Holocaust)
Static Shock Special (a tribute to Dwayne McDuffie by several Milestone creators)

VOL.10 - MILESTONE RETURNS
??? issues
NOTE: These comics are a brand new reboot of the Milestone world, and are still currently being published. Thus I do not know the correct reading order. I will update this when the project inevitably falls apart and ends.

And that’s it! Enjoy! And if you find any mistakes, PLEASE let me know!

Morphin Time
Go Go Power Rangers #1-20
Go Go Power Rangers:  Rangers Forever #1

Issues 9-12 are the Shattered Grid tie-ins, but there are enough continuing subplots that should keep those issues in place here.  If Boom ever does an adaptation of the Green Ranger mini-series, it would go perfectly right after this volume.

Black Dragon
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #0 (lead story only)
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1-4, 6-9, 11-14, 16
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #15, 5, 10
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2017 Annual:  “Perfect”

The main series had a “fill-in” every fifth issue that helped explain some backstory.  I moved those issues to the end of the volume to minimize the disruption.  MMPR #5 actually takes place during the last few pages of GGPR: Forever Rangers #1.

Shattered Grid
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2017 Annual:  “Search Party”
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #17-26
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers 2018 Annual
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:  FCBD 2018
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #26-30
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers:  Shattered Grid #1

Black Dragon and Shattered Grid work together as a two-volume set, all part of the same storyline.

Beyond the Grid
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #31-39

Completely optional, as it does not follow the original MMPR team.  Personally, I did not collect these issues.

Necessary Evil
Go Go Power Rangers #21-32
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #40-50

Both series jumped ahead into the season 2 timeline.  MMPR #40 picked up after the White Ranger joined the team, as well as the new Red, Yellow, and Black Rangers.  GGPR #21 started shortly after the beginning of season 2 and proceeded to catch up to the status quo at the beginning of MMPR #40.  MMPR #40 starts with a recap of the end of Shattered Grid that can easily be moved to the beginning of the volume.  The last few pages of #50 jumps ahead in time slightly and leads directly into the next volume.

Unlimited Power
MMPR #51-55
Mighty Morphin #1
Power Rangers #1
Mighty Morphin #2-5
Power Rangers #2-5
Power Rangers Unlimited: Heir to Darkness #1
Power Rangers #6
Mighty Morphin #6-8
Power Rangers #7-8
Power Rangers Unlimited:  Edge of Darkness #1

The subplots from #51-55 continue into the two new spinoff series.  Except for Power Rangers #1 taking place between Mighty Morphin #1-2, the two series are telling their own stories that are mostly continuous from issue to issue, so the narrative flow works better by putting chunks of issues from each series together.

The Eltarian War
Mighty Morphin #9-12
Power Rangers #9-12
Mighty Morphin #13
Power Rangers #13
Mighty Morphin #14
Power Rangers #14
Mighty Morphin #15
Power Rangers #15
Mighty Morphin #16
Power Rangers #16

Charge to 100
Mighty Morphin #17-20
Power Rangers #17-20
Power Rangers Unlimited:  Countdown to Ruin #1
Mighty Morphin #21-22
Power Rangers #21-22
Power Rangers Unlimited:  The Death Ranger #1
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #100

Legacy numbering – the Mighty Morphin series counts for the even numbered issues between #56-98, and the Power Rangers series counts for the odd numbered issues between #57-99.

New Dawn (mapping still TBD)
FCBD 2020:  Road to Ranger Slayer
Ranger Slayer #1
Drakkon:  New Dawn #1-3
Power Rangers Unlimited:  The Coinless #1

This volume is an optional side project.  The FCBD issue contains excerpts from GGPR #9-12, plus a new story.  The last page of the story is the first page of Ranger Slayer #1.  Mapping subject to change if they continue the storyline.

Power Ranger Team-Up
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #1-5
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II #1-5
Mighty Morphin Power Rangers/Justice League #1-6
Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers #1-5
Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers II #1-5

This team-up volume sits outside of continuity.

I originally wanted to map this in chronological order, but there was very little intersection between the series like that.  And when the line fizzled out, I decided the best approach was to bind it by series.

Captain Midnight volume one
Project Black Sky Secret Files TPB (except for FCBD story)
Dark Horse Presents #18-20 (Captain Midnight #0)
FCBD 2013: Star Wars/Avatar/Captain Midnight – middle story only
Captain Midnight #1-7
Skyman #1-4
Captain Midnight #8-11
Two Past Midnight #1-5

Captain Midnight volume two
Free Comic Book Day 2014:  Project Black Sky
Captain Midnight #12-16
Skyman one-shot
Captain Midnight #17-24

The FCBD story is reprinted in the Secret Files TPB, and that’s what I used here.

Ghost
Dark Horse Presents #13-15 (Ghost #0)
Ghost mini series #1-4
Ghost #1-12

X
Dark Horse Presents #19-21 (X #0)
X #1-24

Brain Boy & The Occultist
The Occultist one-shot
The Occultist #1-3
Dark Horse Presents #11-13 (Occultist story, not reprinted in #0 issue)
The Occultist #1-5
Dark Horse Presents #23-25 (Brain Boy #0)
Brain Boy #1-3
Free Comic Book Day 2014:  Project Black Sky
Brain Boy:  The Men from GESTALT #1-4
Dark Horse Presents #7/200 (Ape-X story)

I know, the title is backwards of the contents, but it flows better.  The 2014 FCBD story appears again, this time binding the original issue.

Quis Nisi Nos
Dark Horse Presents #24-26 (Blackout story, no #0 issue)
Blackout #1-4
Barb Wire #1-8
Blackout #1-4 (King Tiger backups)
King Tiger #1-4

This last book is just a catch-all of the last few minis that didn’t really fit anywhere else.  Barb Wire and King Tiger didn’t even carry the PBS trade dress.  I considered putting all of the short series together (including Brain Boy and the Occultist), but the book was just slightly too big for my preferences.

For the most part, I am looking at binding each series individually.  However, I have developed a few volumes that put crossovers and intertwined plots together, especially for the later years after Marvel took over.

Firearm
Firearm #0-6
Prime #10
Firearm #7-11
Ultraverse Premiere #5-7 (Iron Clad story)
Firearm #12-14
Firearm #15 (page 1-21)
Freex #15 (page 10-11, 13-end)
Night Man #14 (page 1-6, 11-23)
Firearm #15 page 22-end
Firearm #16-18
Codename: Firearm #0-2 (backups)

-Firearm #0 came with a VHS tape of a film that continued into the comic.  There is some discrepancy online as to where to place the issue.  It was cover dated November 1993 (same as #3), but #1-4 are a continuous arc with #5 occurring really soon afterward and leading into #6 and Prime #10.  It seemed a bit too far to push it all the way to before #7.
-Firearm #2 contains a chapter of Rune #0.
-Firearm #4 is a Break-Thru tie-in, but has very little to do with the crossover.  It’s almost a literal “red sky” tie-in.
-Firearm #5 has a Prime origin sequence presented as a two page spread.  It shares a page with a Firearm pin-up, and can easily be extracted if needed.   However, I opted to leave it in place, because it’s a good recap of the Prime series prior to the crossover that starts in Firearm #6.
-Ultraverse Premiere #5-7 are on the flip sides of Firearm #11, Prototype #13, and Hardcase #16.  The feature is not necessary, but ties into the Rafferty Saga that runs in Firearm #12-18.  It’s about another character that the bad guy goes after.  I used the cover of UVP #6 before the arc, because it had the best art of Iron Clad available.
-If you want to include Freex #15 and Night Man #14 in order, you will need to scan and print pages 21 and 22 of Firearm #15.   Most of Freex #15 overlaps with Firearm #15 and isn’t needed for the Firearm/Rafferty story.  I scanned page 10 of Freex #15 to go on the back of Firearm #15 page 21.  Since I still wanted to use the Freex #15 cover somewhere because it was a close up shot of Rafferty that paralleled the close up of Firearm on Firearm #15, I put the cover between pages 11 and 13 (page 12 was an unrelated subplot).  I scanned page 23 of Night Man #14 to go on the front of page 22 of Firearm #15.
-The discarded pages from Night Man #14 could be used for a Strangers volume, if you are so inclined.  (See below for the Strangers map!)
-The Strangers #17 is a Rafferty tie-in but unnecessary to the main Firearm narrative.  There’s also no good way to splice that issue into Firearm.
-Prime #20 is another Rafferty tie-in but everything that you need to know from that issue is presented in Firearm #15-16 and Night Man #14.  There is no clean way to insert any of the Prime issues.
-The first page of the backup story from Codename: Firearm #2 shares a story page with the main story.

Night Man Volume 1
origin from Solitaire #3
Night Man #1-2
Freex #6
Night Man #3-11
Night Man #12 (Hostile Takeover 1)
Solution #13 (Hostile Takeover 3)
Giant Size Prototype #1 (Hostile Takeover 4, skip back-up story)
Night Man #13

-The origin feature in Solitaire #3 is a two page front and back deal, and can easily be extracted from that issue.
-Night Man #1 contains a chapter of Rune #0.
-NM #2 and Freex #6 are Break-Thru crossovers, but they don’t tie in heavily with the Break-Thru bookend issues.
-Night Man #4 features the Firearm origin, which is presented as a two page spread.  It shares a page with the letter column, but not any story pages.
-Prototype #13 is the prologue to Hostile Takeover, and Solitaire #10 is part 2, both of which I skipped for this volume because they did not feature Night Man.  The best place to include the entire Hostile Takeover crossover would be in a Prototype volume, which I have not done.  Interestingly enough, you could try to isolate Hostile Takeover in its own volume and map the other series around that, but it would be ultimately cheaper to just buy four copies of each issue and bind it multiple times.

Night Man Volume 2
Night Man #14
Night Man Annual #1
Strangers Annual #1
Night Man #15-16
Ultraverse Premiere #11 (Rhiannon story, flip book with Night Man #16)
Night Man #17-23
Night Man #∞
Night Man vs. Wolverine
Night Man Vol. 2 #1-4

-Night Man #23 features part 2 of a Hellblade story that can be removed.  (That story ties into All-New Exiles, and is reprinted in that series in full later on.)
-The last few issues of volume 1 continue directly into the Infinity issue which pretty much continues directly into the Wolverine special and volume 2 mini-series.  That’s why I’m not worried about making a volume break there to fit around other Black September books.  (I did use a duplicate of Night Man #22 in the Black September book.)
-OPTIONAL:  Night Man/Gambit #1-3 can be added to the end, but it’s not by Englehart, and there are very few decent reviews of it, so beware.

Prime Volume 1
Ultraverse Premiere #0 (Prime origin)
Prime #1-7
Break Thru #2
Prime #8
Mantra #7
Prime #9
Firearm #6
Prime #10-13
Giant Size Freex #1 (main story only)
Freex #12
Prime #14-15

-I cut out the last few pages of Freex #12 after Prime leaves the group, so it wouldn’t leave them on a cliffhanger that I had no intentions of resolving in this volume.

Prime Volume 2
Prime #1/2
Prime #16
Prime Annual #1
Prime #17-18
Sludge #12/Ultraverse Premiere #8
Ultraverse Double Feature #1 (Prime side only)
Prime #19-24
Power of Prime #1
Prime #25-26
Power of Prime #2-4

-Prime #1/2 was a little tricky to place.  It was cover dated April 1994, same as Prime #11.  However, due to it being a special Wizard issue, that’s the least reliable piece of information in the book.  It features the “badass” Prime form which was in Prime #10-16.  Finally, the Sketchbook shows the bad guys from Prime #12-13 as upcoming.  However, the story itself flashes back to their encounter in #12.  It could probably fit any number of places between Prime #10-16 (some better than others), but I chose before #16 to even out the volumes.
-Sludge #12 had a cover date of December 1994, the same as Prime #18 (continued directly from #17).  The first feature of Ultraverse Premiere #8 was the eight page conclusion to Sludge #12, with which it was a flipbook.
-UV Double Feature was cover dated January 1995.

Prime Volume 3
Prime vs. Hulk #0
Prime #∞
Prime vol 2 #1-5
Prime/Captain America
>Prime vol 2 #6-15

-Everything goes by publication date.  The Cap team up could maybe shift to after #8 and then it would keep Breyfogle art together.

Rune
Rune #0 (collects all of the 3 page chapters from the other books)
Rune #1-6
Giant Size Rune #1 (main story)
Rune #7-9
Giant Size Rune #1 (second story and backup features)

Solitaire
Solitaire #1-12
Ultraverse Double Feature (Solitaire story only)

-The covers for Solitaire #1-6 tell a story that goes between #5 and 6.  All six covers are reproduced on the inside cover of #6.
-Solitaire #2 is a Break-Thru tie-in, but Solitaire doesn’t really participate in the main part of the crossover.
-Solitaire #10 is part of Hostile Takeover, but Solitaire does not appear in any other parts of the crossover, so they are not needed for this volume.

The Solution
The Solution #0-4
Break-Thru #2
The Solution #5-12
Night Man #12 (Hostile Takeover 1)
The Solution #13 (Hostile Takeover 3)
Giant Size Prototype #1 (Hostile Takeover 4, skip back-up story)
The Solution #14-17
Ultraverse Premiere #10 (Casino story, flip book with The Solution #16)

-Hardcase #7 crosses over with The Solution #3-4 as part of Break-Thru, but it’s completely recapped in The Solution #4, so I omitted it here.  Break-Thru #2 is needed to resolve the cliffhanger.
-As with Night Man, I skipped the prologue (Prototype #13) and part 2 (Solitaire #10) of Hostile Takeover as they are not relevant to the Solution.

The Strangers
Ultraverse Premiere #0 (Strangers/Yrial)
The Strangers #1-3
Hardcase #4
The Strangers #4-6
Break-Thru #1
Prototype #5
The Strangers #7
Break-Thru #2
The Strangers #8-13
Mantra #12
Ultraverse Premiere #4, 6-7 (Ladykiller)
The Strangers #14-18
Night Man Annual #1
The Strangers Annual #1
The Strangers #19-20
UVP #8 (Grenade/Electrocute)
The Strangers #21-24

-Pages 7-10 of Night Man #14 parallel a sequence in Strangers #18, and you might have those pages left over from binding Firearm. It does take a bit of work to smoothly insert those pages into Strangers, so I ended up leaving them out.
-I used the UVP #7 cover to go along with the Ladykiller story.

Break-Thru
Exiles #1-4
Hardcase #7
Break-Thru #1
Sludge #3
Prime #7
Mantra #6
Prototype #5
The Strangers #7
Freex #6
Night Man #3
The Solution #4
Break-Thru #2
Ultraverse Origins #1

-Solitaire #2 was left out because it’s a “Red Skies” crossover and barely mentions Break-Thru.
-Firearm #4 was left out because it’s the final part of the opening arc, and only briefly touches on Break-Thru.
-Prototype #5 and The Strangers #7 tie together.
-Freex #6 and Night Man #3 tie together.
-Hardcase #7 and Solution #4 loosely tie together.  However, Hardcase #7 ties in with events from Break-Thru #1, and has to take place prior.
-Ultraverse Origins isn’t necessary.  It reprints the various origin stories that showed up in Ultraverse books a few months prior to Break-Thru.  I placed it here since it was the best fit.

Godwheel (Countdown to Black September)
Ultraverse Premiere #3 (Lord Pumpkin origin story)
Lord Pumpkin #0
Mantra #17
Giant Size Warstrike #1
Godwheel #0 (front cover and chapter one)
Godwheel #0 (back cover and chapter two)
Godwheel #1 (front cover and chapter one)
Godwheel #1 (back cover and chapter two)
Godwheel #2 (back cover and chapters one and two)
Godwheel #2 (front cover and chapter three)
Godwheel #3
Rune/Silver Surfer
Silver Surfer/Rune (flip side of above)
Mantra #18-20
Lord Pumpkin #1 (flip book with Necro-Mantra #1)
Lord Pumpkin #2 (flip book with Necro-Mantra #2)
Necro-Mantra #1 (flip book with Lord Pumpkin #1)
Necro-Mantra #2 (flip book with Lord Pumpkin #2)
Necro-Mantra #3 (flip book with Lord Pumpkin #3)
Lord Pumpkin #3 (flip book with Necro-Mantra #3)
Lord Pumpkin/Necro-Mantra #4 (not a flip book)
Hardcase #23
Mantra #22
Night Man #22
Curse of Rune #1-4
Eliminator #0-3
Ultraforce #8-10
Ultraforce/Avengers Prelude
Avengers/Ultraforce
Ultraforce/Avengers

-Godwheel #0-2 came with flip covers.  I interspersed the back covers with the issues, as each issue had multiple chapters.
-Eliminator #0 contains four stories originally intended for Ultraverse Premiere, but only two of the stories actually got published in that series.
-These are the issues that made up “the Ultraverse Spine”, a series of events leading up to Black September.

Black September
Black September #∞
Ultraforce #∞
Ultraforce #1-3
All-New Exiles #∞
All-New Exiles #1
Exiles vs. X-Men #0
Phoenix Resurrection #0
Phoenix Resurrection:  Genesis
Phoenix Resurrection:  Revelations
Phoenix Resurrection #0 (epilogue)
Ultraforce/Spider-Man #1A (pages 1-29)
Ultraforce/Spider-Man #1B (pages 18-40)
Ultraforce #4
All-New Exiles #4
Ultraforce #5-7

-Apparently there was some printing error with Ultraforce #1, so it was reprinted in the back of All New Exiles #1, and the front of Ultraforce #2.  The Exiles version has a full page reproduction of the cover.
-The Phoenix Resurrection #0 issue reprints all of the flip stories from the #2 issues, plus an extra epilogue.
-There are two versions of Ultraforce/Spider-Man #1.  Each has a different middle chapter (pages 18-29), although the beginning and the end are the same.  Splicing them together will involve some scan-and-print.
-I left out the Phoenix Resurrection Aftermath, because that is more of a setup for Foxfire, and I literally fell asleep reading the issue.

Future Shock
All-New Exiles #8
Ultraforce #8-9
Ultraforce #10-11 (backups)
Ultraforce #10-11
All-New Exiles #11
Ultraforce #12
Ultraverse Unlimited #2
Ultraforce #13-15
Angels of Destruction
Ultraverse:  Future Shock

Volume 1:  Life in the City
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (mini) #1-6
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City #1/2
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (ongoing) #1-13

Volume 2:  Local Heroes
Kurt Busiek’s Astro City (ongoing) #14-22
six page story from 9/11 Volume 2
Astro City:  Local Heroes #1-5
Astro City Special:  Supersonic
Astro City Visitor’s Guide
Astro City:  Samaritan
Astro City:  Beautie
Astro City:  Astra #1-2

Volume 3:  The Dark Age
Astro City/Arrowsmith Flip Book (AC portion only)
Astro City:  The Dark Age Book 1 #1-4
Astro City:  The Dark Age Book 2 #1-4
Astro City:  The Dark Age Book 3 #1-4
Astro City:  The Dark Age Book 4 #1-4
Astro City:  Silver Agent #1-2

Volume 4:  Private Lives
Astro City (Vertigo series) #1-26

Volume 5:  Ordinary Heroes
Astro City (Vertigo series) #27-52

I originally planned to keep having about 20 issues per volume going into the Vertigo series, with breakpoints after issues #21 and #41 (the “100th” issue), but then the series was announced to end at #52 before switching to an OGN format.  I didn’t want to combine the series with the OGNs for various reasons mostly to do with the erratic scheduling.  There were three options — have volume 6 only be 11 issues, reconfigure the three volumes to be shorter than 20 issues, or condense into two volumes of 26 issues each.  As it turns out, #26 was the 20th anniversary issue and makes for a good breakpoint.  I can deal with the slightly larger volumes.

Also note that #33 contains a printing error on page 3, as the lettering was all shifted down and some dialogue was left off the page.  The error was corrected for the digital and TPB versions of the issue.

Archer & Armstrong
Archer & Armstrong #0-12

Harbinger
Harbinger #0-25
Harbinger Files #1

Solar, Man of the Atom
Solar, Man of the Atom #0 (Alpha and Omega TPB)
Solar, Man of the Atom #1-11
Unity #0
Solar, Man of the Atom #12-13
Unity #1

Solar:  Brave New World
Solar, Man of the Atom #46-54

X-O Manowar Volume 1
X-O Manowar #0-12
Solar, Man of the Atom #17
X-O Manowar #13-15

X-O Manowar Volume 2
X-O Manowar #16-24
Armorines #0 (comes bound in X-O #25)
X-O Manowar #25-32
X-O Database #1

The 41st Century

Magnus Robot Fighter (4001 A.D.)
Magnus Robot Fighter #0-20 (#5-8 include the Rai #1-4 flip books)

The flip books are easy enough to separate and flip around, except for Magnus #5/Rai #1.  The final page of each story was printed back to back, so scanning and printing it required.  But at least, you can fix the credit mix-up for Rai #1, using the credits printed on the Jim Shooter page of Magnus #6.  I kept the cover for Rai #4/Magnus #8 together, since it was one large image.

Rai (4001 A.D.)
Rai #1-8

(I just got the Valiant Masters HC for Rai)

The Malev War:  Volume 1 (4002 A.D.)
Rai #0
Magnus Robot Fighter #21-24
Rai and the Future Force #9
Magnus Robot Fighter #25
Rai and the Future Force #10
Magnus Robot Fighter #26
Rai and the Future Force #11
Magnus Robot Fighter #27
Rai and the Future Force #12
Magnus Robot Fighter #28
Rai and the Future Force #13
Magnus Robot Fighter #29
Rai and the Future Force #14

The Malev War:  Volume 2 (4003 A.D.)
Rai and the Future Force #15
Magnus Robot Fighter #30
Rai and the Future Force #16
Magnus Robot Fighter #31
Rai and the Future Force #17
Magnus Robot Fighter #32-33
Rai and the Future Force #18
Magnus Robot Fighter #34
Rai and the Future Force #19
Magnus Robot Fighter #35
Rai and the Future Force #20
Magnus Robot Fighter #36
Rai and the Future Force #21
Magnus Robot Fighter #37
Rai and the Future Force #22

Magnus:  The Terran Consortium (4020 A.D.)
Magnus Robot Fighter #38
Rai and the Future Force #23
Magnus Robot Fighter #39
Rai #24 (May 19, 4020)
Magnus Robot Fighter #40
Rai #25 (April 24, 4020)
Solar Man of the Atom #38
Psi-Lords #3
Rai #26
Magnus Robot Fighter #41
Magnus Robot Fighter #42-46
Rai #27-33
Magnus Robot Fighter #49-54

(Magnus #47-48 was a fill in that did not fit in the timeframe of the issues around them.)

PART 1:
Lady Death I: The Reckoning 1–3, ½
Lady Death II: Between Heaven & Hell 1–4
Lady Death FAN Edition
Chaos Quarterly 2 (“Lady Demon”)
Chaos Quarterly 1 (“Lady Death”)
Evil Ernie: Straight to Hell 4
Chaos Quarterly 3 (“Aftershock”)
Lady Death III: The Odyssey 1–4
Lady Death IV: The Crucible ½, 1–6

PART  2:
Lady Death 0–10
Purgatori 2–3
Lady Death 11–16
Lady Death: Dragon Wars
Lady Death: Retribution
Lady Death vs. Vampirella (out-of-continuity)
Lady Death vs. Vampirella II (sequel to the above)

PART 3:
Lady Death: The Rapture 1–4
Armageddon 1
Lady Death: Judgement War Prelude
Lady Death: Judgement War 1–2
Armageddon 2
Lady Death vs. Purgatori
Armageddon 3
Lady Death: Judgement War 3
Armageddon 4
Aftermath
Lady Death: Dark Millennium 1–3
Untold Tales of Lady Death
Lady Death: Tribulation 1–2
Purgatori vs. Lady Death
Lady Death: Tribulation 3–4
Lady Death: Love Bites
Lady Death: River of Fear

PART 4:
Lady Death: Alive 1
Lady Death / Bad Kitty
Lady Death: Alive 2–4
Lady Death: Mischief Night
Lady Death / Medieval Witchblade
Lady Death: Last Rites 1
Witchblade / Lady Death
Lady Death: Last Rites 2–4
Lady Death / Chastity
Lady Death: Heartbreaker
Lady Death and Jade
Lady Death / Bedlam
Lady Death: The Gauntlet 1–2
Lady Death: Goddess Returns 1–2
Lady Death: Re-Imagined
Lady Death / Chastity / Bad Kitty: United
Lady Death: Dark Alliance 1–3 (4 & 5 went unpublished)

Acclaim Miscellaneous – This one was a collection of stuff that effectively had nowhere else to go. 
Acclaim Comics Valiant Heroes Special
Acclaim Reader (B/W preview)
Concrete Jungle 1 (I thought about adding the Concrete Jungle Retailer Preview but the series was only one issue, so I decided against it)
The Goat H.A.E.D.U.S. (This could have gone in my Quantum & Woody bind, but it felt more like a separate issue than a crossover)
N.I.O. #1-4
Master Darque Special
Darque Passages #1-4
Deadside #1-3 (Issue 4 was never published! So the mini-series is unfinished)
Unity 2000 Alpha 
Unity 2000 Omega
Unity 2000 #1-3 (another unfinished mini-series. Issues 4-6 never published)

Archer & Armstrong
Archer & Armstrong #0-25
Eternal Warrior #25
Archer & Armstrong #26

Armorines
Armorines #0-12
Armorines (volume 2) #1-4

Bloodshot - Book 1
Bloodshot #0-18

Bloodshot - Book 2
Bloodshot #19-27
Secret Weapons #20
Bloodshot #28
Secret Weapons #21
Bloodshot #29-35

Bloodshot - Book 3
Bloodshot #36-51
Bloodshot Yearbook #1
Bloodshot Last Stand #1

Chaos Effect
Chaos Effect Alpha
Shadowman #29
Second Life of Dr Mirage #11
Turok Dinosaur Hunter #16
Secrets of the Valiant Universe #2
Bloodshot #20
Secret Weapons #13
Ninjak #8
Eternal Warrior #26/Archer & Armstrong #26 (flip-book, EW comes first)
Harbinger #34
Armorines #5
X-O Manowar #33
H.A.R.D. Corps #23
Solar Man of the Atom #38
Psi-Lords #3
Rai #26
Magnus Robot Fighter #41
Chaos Effect Omega
Chaos Effect Epilogue #1
Chaos Effect Epilogue #2

Doctor Tomorrow
Doctor Tomorrow #1-12

Eternal Warrior – Book 1
Valiant Era Companion #1 (included with Valiant Era Collection TPB)
Eternal Warrior #1-17
Eternal Warrior Yearbook #1
Eternal Warrior #18-20

Eternal Warrior – Book 2
Eternal Warrior #21-24
Archer & Armstrong #25
Eternal Warrior #25-27
Eternal Warrior Yearbook #2
Eternal Warrior #28-40

Eternal Warrior - Book 3
Eternal Warrior #41-50
Eternal Warrior Special #1
Fist and Steel #1-2
Eternal Warriors #1-6

Geomancer/Psi-Lords
Geomancer #1-8
Psi-Lords #1-7
Destroyer #0
Psi-Lords #8-10

(Each title individually seemed to be a waste to bind separately.)

Harbinger – Book 1
Harbinger #0-25

Harbinger – Book 2
Harbinger #26-41
Harbinger Files #1-2
Harbinger:  Acts of God (Acclaim)

H.A.R.D. Corps - Book 1
HARD Corps #1-16

H.A.R.D. Corps - Book 2
HARD Corps #17-18
Harbinger #30
HARD Corps #19
Harbinger #31
HARD Corps #20-30

H.A.R.D. Corps (Alternate map to include everything)
HARD Corps #1-18
Harbinger #30
HARD Corps #19
Harbinger #31
HARD Corps #20-22
Armorines #4-5
X-O Manowar #33
HARD Corps #23-30

Magnus Robot Fighter - Book 1
Magnus Robot Fighter #0-20

Magnus Robot Fighter - Book 2:  The Malev War
Magnus Robot Fighter #21 – 24
Rai and the Future Force #9
Magnus Robot Fighter #25
Rai and the Future Force #10 – 11
Magnus Robot Fighter #26 – 29
Rai and the Future Force #15
Magnus Robot Fighter #30
Rai and the Future Force #16
Magnus Robot Fighter #31
Rai and the Future Force #17
Magnus Robot Fighter #32 – 33
Rai and the Future Force #18
Magnus Robot Fighter #34
Rai and the Future Force #19
Magnus Robot Fighter #35
Rai and the Future Force #20
Magnus Robot Fighter #36
Rai and the Future Force #21
Magnus Robot Fighter #37
Rai and the Future Force #22 – 23
Magnus Robot Fighter #38

Magnus Robot Fighter - Book 3
Magnus Robot Fighter #39-40
Magnus Yearbook #1
Magnus Robot Fighter #41-42
Chaos Effect Epilogue #1-2
Magnus Robot Fighter #43-64

Magnus Robot Fighter - Book 4 (Crossovers and VH-2)
Magnus/Nexus #1-2
Predator vs Magnus #1-2
Magnus Robot Fighter (volume 2) #1-18

Ninjak - Book 1
Ninjak #0
Ninjak #00
Ninjak #1-10
Ninjak Yearbook #1
Ninjak #11-17

Ninjak - Book 2
Ninjak #18-26
Ninjak (volume 2) #1-12

Quantum and Woody
Quantum and Woody #0-21, 32

Quantum and Woody (alternate map – publishing order)
Quantum and Woody #1-6, 0, 7-17, 32, 18-21

Rai - Book 1
Magnus Robot Fighter #5-8*
Rai #1-8
Rai Companion #1 (included with Rai TPB)
Rai #0
Rai and the Future Force #9
Magnus Robot Figher #25
Rai and the Future Force #10-14

*(these are Magnus/Rai flip books so I sliced them in half and had them bound in order)

Rai - Book 2
Rai and the Future Force #15
Magnus Robot Fighter #30
Rai and the Future Force #16
Magnus Robot Fighter #31
Rai and the Future Force #17-18
Magnus Robot Fighter #34
Rai and the Future Force #19
Magnus Robot Fighter #35
Rai and the Future Force #20
Magnus Robot Fighter #36
Rai and the Future Force #21
Magnus Robot Fighter #37
Rai and the Future Force #22 – 23
Rai #24-33

The Second Life of Doctor Mirage
The Second Life of Doctor Mirage #1-5
Shadowman #23
The Second Life of Doctor Mirage #6-18

Shadowman - Book 1
Shadowman #1-22
Doctor Mirage #5
Shadowman #23

Shadowman - Book 2
Shadowman #24-43
Shadowman #0
Shadowman Yearbook #1

Shadowman - Book 3
Shadowman (volume 2) #1-20
Shadowman (volume 3) #1-6

Solar - Book 1
Solar, Man of the Atom #0 (Alpha and Omega TPB)
Solar, Man of the Atom #1-23

(I used the TPB For #0 as the inserts did not work correctly because at least one page was on a main story page, not contained to the pullout sections)

Solar – Book 2
Solar, Man of the Atom #24-45

Solar – Book 3
Solar, Man of the Atom #46-60
Destroyer #0
Man of the Atom #1 (Acclaim)
Revelations #1
Solar Hell on Earth #1-4

Timewalker
Timewalker #0-15
Timewalker Yearbook #1

Trinity Angels
Trinity Angels #1-12
Trinity Angels Retailer Preview

Troublemakers
Troublemakers #1-19

Turok Dinosaur Hunter – Book 1
Turok Dinosaur Hunter #0-23

Turok Dinosaur Hunter - Book 2
Turok Dinosaur Hunter #24-47

Turok Dinosaur Hunter - Book 3
Turok the Hunted #1-2
Turok/Timewalker #1-2
Turok: The Empty Souls
Turok: Spring Break in the Lost Land
Turok: Redpath
Turok: Child of Blood
Turok: Tales of the Lost Land
Turok #1-4
Turok/Shadowman
Turok 3: Shadow of Oblivion
Turok: Evolution

Unity
Unity #0
Eternal Warrior #1
Archer and Armstrong #1
Magnus Robot Fighter #15
X-O Manowar #7
Shadowman #4
Rai #6
Harbinger #8
Solar, Man of the Atom #12
Eternal Warrior #2
Archer and Armstrong #2
Magnus Robot Fighter #16
X-O Manowar #8
Shadowman #5
Rai #7
Harbinger #9
Solar, Man of the Atom #13
Unity #1

(I didn’t include the Unity Lost Chapter book because it was published two years after Unity and really reads more like a X-O Manowar book, not a Unity book. So it will be going in the X-O books.)

Valiant Miscellany
Valiant Reader
Secrets of the Valiant Universe #1-3
Valiant Era Companion
Darque Passages
Deathmate Preview Green
Deathmate Preview Pink
Deathmate Prologue
Deathmate Black
Deathmate Yellow
Deathmate Blue
Deathmate Red
Deathmate Epilogue
Deathmate Tourbook
Valiant Free View
The Outcast Special
Punx #1-3
Manga Punx Special
Valiant Vision Starter Kit
Wizard – The Beginning of the Valiant Era
Radioactive Man #106

Vintage Valiant
Vintage Magnus #1-4
Original Magnus #1
Original Doctor Solar #1
Original Turok #1-2
Captain Johner and the Aliens #1-2

The Visitor
The Visitor vs the Valiant Universe #1-2
The Visitor #1-13

X-O Manowar – Book 1
X-O Database
X-O Manowar #0-8
Unity: the Lost Chapter
X-O Manowar #9-21

X-O Manowar – Book 2
X-O Manowar #22-41
X-O Manowar Yearbook #1
X-O Manowar #42
Shadowman #37
X-O Manowar #43

X-O Manowar – Book 3
Birthquake Prequel
X-O Manowar #44-49
X-O Manowar #50-X
X-O Manowar #50-O
X-O Manowar #51-68

X-O Manowar – Book 4
X-O Manowar/Iron Man
Iron Man/X-O Manowar
X-O Manowar (volume 2) #1-2
X-O Manowar (volume 2) Fan Edition
X-O Manowar (volume 2) #3-7
Operation Stormbreaker
X-O Manowar (volume 2) #8-21

After a 40 issue season 8, Joss Whedon and Dark Horse got a little more complex for season 9, expanding to two ongoing series, two mini-series, a one-shot, and an anthology arc.

There are 62 issues worth of material.  25 issues each of Buffy and Angel/Faith, 5 Spike, 5 Willow, the FCBD special, and then the DHP arc (which counts as one issue).  For the most part, each series breaks down into 5 issue chunks.  I’m mainly just alternating between those, although I do swap some of the one-shots around too, to vary things up.

Volume 1
Buffy #1-4
Angel and Faith #1-4
FCBD Special
Buffy #5
Angel and Faith #5
Buffy #6-10
Angel and Faith #6-10
Buffy #11-13
Angel and Faith #11-14
Buffy #14-15
Angel and Faith #15

Volume 2
Spike #1-5
Angel and Faith #16-20
Willow #1-5
Buffy #16-20
Angel and Faith #21-25
Buffy #21-22
Dark Horse Presents #25-27
Buffy #23-25

The main bits of continuity to remember:
-Spike mini goes between Buffy #10 and Angel #18
-Willow mini goes between Angel #14 and Buffy #20
-Dark Horse Presents #25-27 spins out of Buffy #22.
-the Drusilla mini that never came out would come after Angel #9.

Season Ten

This season scaled back slightly on content, in that there were no mini-series, but the Buffy series did run an extra 5 issues.  There are a total of 56 issues worth of content.

Volume 1
Buffy #1-5
Angel and Faith #1-5
Buffy #6-9
Angel and Faith #6-14
Buffy #10-15

Volume 2
Angel and Faith #15
Buffy #16-18
Angel and Faith #16-18
Buffy #19-20
Angel and Faith #19-20
Buffy #21-25
Angel and Faith #21-25
Buffy #26-30
Dark Horse Day Sampler (final story)

The main bit of continuity between the two series was when Angel guest starred in Buffy #16-18.  The 15th issues of both series shared a scene near the end of the issue setting it up, and then Angel appeared in Buffy #16-18 while he was absent from his own series for the same timeframe.

Seasons Eleven and Twelve

Due to the shorter runs of these seasons, it’s easier to combine them into a single volume.  As far as I can tell, Buffy and Angel run independently of each other, so they could be placed in any order.  The Giles mini-series was published after season 11 concluded, but takes place during the season.  I feel it works better as a flashback instead of interrupting the Buffy storyline.  As long as Giles is put after Buffy, the three season 11 series could be configured in almost any order.

Volume 1 of 1
Buffy (season 11) #1-12
Giles #1-4
Angel #1-12
Buffy:  The Reckoning (season 12) #1-4

Crossfire (1984) 1-13
DNAgents 24
Crossfire 14-15

Volume 2

Crossfire (1984) 16-26
Crossfire and Rainbow 1-4
Crossfire (1994) 1